Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,89
for trouble for months, maybe years.”
“We talked to the brothers who live down the road, but they say they weren’t out there last night. Same with the local members. No way to prove it one way or another.”
“I don’t suppose anyone mentioned where the group might have gone.”
“We’ve got arrest warrants out for Troy Bragg and Dennis Hutchins. The people we talked to say they haven’t seen either one of them.”
“According to what Sam said, Mace, Pete, Luke and Aggie Bragg were among those in the camp. He gave you names of some of the other members. They ought to be good for aiding and abetting.”
“This is a small town, Slocum. Half the people in the area have kin who belong to the Patriots. I’m not stirring up unnecessary trouble.”
It seemed damn necessary to Ben. On the other hand, he had his son back. And it was probably better for Sam just to move forward.
“I’ll be in touch if anything turns up.” The sheriff ended the call, and Ben turned to Claire, anxiously waiting a few feet away.
“They didn’t catch Troy and Duke?”
“Whole bunch vanished like ghosts.” He ran a hand through his hair, realized he needed a cut and so did Sam. “I’m not really surprised. Those survivalist groups all have bug-out locations. A place to head in an emergency if their home base goes down.”
“It has to be in the swamp.”
“Or some other swamp.” And there were thousands of square miles of bayous and swamplands in Louisiana, not to mention other parts of the South.
“So what do we do, just let them get away with it?”
“I’ve got my son back. As long as the bastards leave us alone, I don’t care where they go.”
Claire looked as though she wanted to argue. Then she sighed. “Maybe you’re right. It’s probably better for Sam if all of this just goes away.”
“The cops’ll keep looking. I can’t see Hutchins spending the rest of his life in the bayou. He may still turn up somewhere.”
“You don’t think they’ll come here, do you? You don’t think they’ll come after Sam?”
Ben thought of his son, the fear and loneliness he had suffered, the bruises on his arms and the blisters on his hands. “These guys are extremely territorial. Their life is in the bayou. They didn’t even follow us into the lake.” His jaw hardened. “If they know what’s good for them, they’ll stay in whatever mud hole they’re now calling home.”
* * *
The week slid past, busy days for Claire. So far Ben hadn’t mentioned anything about her moving out of his house. Maybe he’d been too busy dealing with social services, speaking to lawyers, filling out forms, talking to people in Los Angeles, taking Sam to the mandatory counseling sessions social services required after his ordeal.
Ben accepted the dictate more readily than she had expected, actually seemed glad for the help. He had never been a dad before. He was finding his way, but it wasn’t that easy.
Claire had been using the time to complete the plans she had made before she’d come to Houston to find Ben in the first place.
Arrangements that had included the possibility of staying in the city if it looked as if Sam would be living there with his dad. She had betrayed Laura and Sam once. It wasn’t going to happen again.
Since Sam had missed so many weeks of school and seemed anxious to return to a part of his life that offered a routine and familiar setting, on Monday of the following week, he would be attending his first day of fourth grade at University District Elementary School.
That morning, Claire made breakfast for her men—that was how she thought of them, both so much alike. Eggs and bacon, toast, juice and coffee. Milk for Sam.
She knew he must be nervous though he hadn’t said anything. Sam had been unusually quiet since Ben had brought him home. It worried Claire more than she wanted Ben to know. But the counselor, and the pediatrician who had examined him, both felt certain Sam had suffered no sexual abuse.
She smiled down at the child as he ate his meal. “Big day, huh, kiddo. You ready for this?”
She’d expected him to smile back, show a little excitement. The old Sam would have.
“The kids are gonna ask me stuff. I won’t know what to say.”
She flicked a glance at Ben, who had stopped eating at the note of worry in his young son’s voice.